Is It a Must to Marry?

I just got off a date with a girl I got hooked up with by a mutual friend, and I feel so low in spirit. Every thing was going okay till she asked of my age. I told her, and the expression on her face was that of someone that had just seen an alien. Then came the endless questions..."Why ain't you married?" "Why don't you have a steady girlfriend?" "Why are you still single in your 30s?" Oh my God! I wanted to shoot myself. Why is it a must for a young man or woman to be married at a certain age in Africa? Yea, I know there are loads of benefits in marrying early. But what if the individual in question has some plans and has to sacrifice the beauty of early marriage for something else? Why must you make that person feel like there is something wrong with him or her?